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LUM 227A

Page 1.

INTERVIEWER: Adolph Dial

INTERVIEWEE: Reverend C. E. Locklear

July 22, 1969

D: ...of Pembroke, July the twenty-second, 1969. Brother Locklear has

the distinction as serving as the first mayor, first elected Indian

mayor of the city of Pembroke. Brother Locklear, how old are you?

L: I am seventy-two years old. I was born June eighth, 1897.

D: When did you serve as mayor of Pembroke?

L: I was elected in 1950, 67, 1957, 50, pardon, let's start that again.

D: Let's see, let me repeat that question. When, when were you elected

as mayor of Pembroke?

L: I was elected in 1948.

D: At the time you were elected as the first Lumbee mayor of the city

of Pembroke or the town of Pembroke, how many served on your town

council?

L: At the time I served as mayor there were two Indians and two white

commissioners.

D: And of course you being Indian, this gave the Indians a majority if

you look at it just from the standpoint of vote and race, doesn't it?

L: That's correct, sir.

D: But I suppose that the issue was always important and it was not really

a thing of race, but it was the issue and I imagine as well as I remember,

there was lots of cooperation. Everything went along smoothly.

L: That's correct, Mr. Dial. In all of my term as mayor I never had to

vote but one time and that was the question of electing a chief of

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police and our split was one Indian and one white on each side. It

was not a question of race and of course that's the only time I ever

had to vote and I broke the tie.

D: Well, I think that's very, that's very remarkable and this shows that

you served the town well as mayor and the fact that you didn't have

to come in and have to. make so many decisions with your vote to

break a tie. Now before your time how was the mayor of Pembroke chosen?

L: Before my time the mayor and commissioners were appointed by the

governor of the state.

D: The mayor and the commissioners were appointed by the governor of the

state. Now, Brother Locklear, knowing you over the years you've been

a very successful business man and also a successful minister, you're

still in the ministry, when did you begin in the ministry?

L: I began in the ministry in the year of 1919. That was my first year

to serve as a pastor at one of our Baptist churches.

D: This was right after World War I.

L: That's correct.

D: Did you go into World War I?

L: No, I missed World War I by just a matter of a few days.

D: Yes, that's right, you were perhaps not quite old enough right at that

time. As you look back in your boyhood days, now you were born in

Lbelieve, what, about 1893?

L: L897.

D; No, 1897, yes, In 1897, looking back to around the turn of the century

right after the twentieth century came in, as a boy and you think back

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among the Lumbee Indians as we know them today, would you mention,

I know you can't mention everybody and all of their names might

not come to your mind, but who do you consider some of the early

leaders back in your boyhood days and some, some of those who made

a contribution to the race?

L: Mr. Dial, I think of one outstanding man. He was a preacher as well